Mark Sykes claims Oxford United goal ahead of Newcastle cup replay

The former Glenavon midfielder is adamant he grabbed a goal in the League One victory over Blackpool as Sykes got his club back on level terms before Marcus Browne secured the 2-1 victory.

Browne was initially awarded the goal but Sykes remains confident his deflected touch proved decisive.

“Yes, it came off me and the keeper went the wrong way,” said Sykes on the club’s official website. “I think ‘Browny’ was a bit annoyed that he didn’t get both goals but it hit me and I think the keeper would have saved it if not: when I turned round I saw that the keeper had gone the other way so it’s as well that it hit me.

“The goal got us back into the game and we played well in the first half.

“The second was more of a grind but we came out on top.

“We all know that the league is massive for us.

“It’s a nice thing to play Newcastle twice but we won’t lose our focus on the league; it’s the most important thing and we have to focus on where we want to be next year.

“So I thought the lads had their heads screwed on for this game and it showed.

“We didn’t win any league games in January so it has been a bit tough for us but the manager was right when he told us it was a bit stop start towards the end today because we hadn’t won for a while.

“But it was just important that we saw it through and got the three points in the end.”

Sykes, 22, signed a three-and-a-half year deal with Oxford in January 2019 following Irish League progress.